


Together in the Stars - Jeff Moreau x Female Shepard

by TheAshenDirewolf



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 08:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15044606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAshenDirewolf/pseuds/TheAshenDirewolf
Summary: Shepard has been having nightmares since her resurrection . Jeff has noticed the changes but doesn't truly understand the extent of damage, until now.





	Together in the Stars - Jeff Moreau x Female Shepard

“No…no…no…no…Please no…” Shepard tossed and turned in bed, sweat soaked her body as her brain battled against the nightmare that dominated her in her unconscious state. Shepard had barely slept since her resurrection, and hadn’t thought to tell anyone either. What good would it do if they had to worry about her? It would only lead to mistakes. It was bad enough that she was practically a zombie, but to have her crew think she was mentally unstable? That could bring in panic. 

However, she knew that people were starting to notice the dark circles under her eyes and her absences in the mess hall. It was inevitable. Jeff had often commented about it, yet she would only brush it off with some witty remark. She stayed up until she would collapse on her desk, trying to avoid sleep as much as possible. This night, however, she could not elude sleep overcoming her, and therefore the dreams that came along with it. 

_She was on the Normandy, racing through the halls as it was destroyed by the beams of the Collectors. Bits of ship flew left and right, flying past her very eyes, and slicing through the bodies of her crew. It was a massacre. No one had been prepared for this attack. Geth they were prepared for. But how could you prepare for an attack of this level? It seemed impossible._

_Everyone was running around, trying to get to the escape pods as quick as possible. Most weren’t so lucky, and their bodies were engulfed by the spreading fire, their screams permeated the air. When she made it to the CIC deck, all she could see was floating bodies being sucked out into space from the hole the particle beam of the Collectors had ripped open._

_It was so quiet. Too quiet. It was the terrifying silence of death that she knew all too well. All she could hear was the loud thrums of her heart and huffs of breath. No one had survived the CIC deck, either killed by the fire or by the oxygen being sucked from them. It was horrifying._

_‘All my fault…All my fault…’ she whispered to herself softly. The Alliance wasn’t going to get there in time to save anyone. All they’d find is burning rubble hurtling towards Alchera’s atmosphere._

_That’s when the thought occurred to her. Where was Joker? Was he still in the bridge? She thought she could see the faint glow of a barrier coming from the cockpit. He was still alive! He must be!_

_Relief flooded her as she started moving towards him. He must be trying to save the ship! He should be in the escape pod already! ‘Stubborn ass! He was going to get himself killed!’_

_Shepard tried to run faster, but it seemed that for every step she made, Syd was even further away from her goal. Her boots kept her from floating into space, but they decreased her speed._

_The dark-haired commander finally reached the cockpit, feeling the difference in air pressure. Reaching out, she swiveled the chair around to help him out of his chair. No matter what stubborn excuses he came up with, she was not leaving him to stay. Her relief, however, was shortlived and soon replaced by horror as she was met by the grotesque form of a Collector, rather than that of her cheeky pilot. Sydney turned to run, yet soon found herself falling the ground with a thud._

_All around, Collectors now hauled away pods with the remaining survivors, onto their ship. No! She couldn’t allow them to be taken! They were her family! She groaned from the pressure grasping her ankle and swiveled her head to see what it was._

_Joker._

_“Jeff! Get to the escape pod! Now! No excuses!”_

_All that she was met with was a strangled growling noise coming from him, and it didn’t take her long to notice the change in the man. Blinding blue circles filled his once bright green irises. The signature look from a husk. Even his skin, now pale and cracked emitted the same haunting blue. He really was a husk._

_“No!” she screamed out in horror, tears streaming down her face at the realization. Her best friend and love was now lost to her, all because she had not been prepared. She had failed him. She had failed them all._

_Her body felt numb and her heart hollow. She did not even fight back as the husk climbed on top of her and encircled her throat with its gnarly black fingers. A gasp erupted from her throat as the creature squeezed, cutting her air supply. Black spots clouded her vision. Yet no sooner had it started, had it stopped. The pressure was released. Yet the terror in her heart did not end there._

_The husk, with great strength, lifted her limp body and threw her into the hole in the ship. She felt herself slowly being sucked into the dark, empty void of space._

_Again the deafening silence surrounded her; both peaceful and terrifying. From her view, she could see as the Collector ship charged to send one last final blast at the remnants of the Normandy. Yet, soon even that had been turned into nothing but ash. With one last look towards where her ship had been, her body drifted towards Alchera’s atmosphere._

_She had lost._

_“I’m sorry…” she whispered with a tear dripping from her eye._

_A loud pop erupted from her suit as the oxygen tubes ruptured. She thrashed around, feeling the tightness in her throat closing up from lack of air. Shepard knew there was no use in struggling, there was nothing she could do to prevent her untimely demise. Yet every fiber of her being seemed to scream at her simultaneously, telling her to keep fighting._

_Her body breached the atmosphere, and her body started to heat up to unbearable levels. She could almost feel her skin being melted from her bones. She gasped in both agony and need for oxygen, yet she found no relief for either. All she found was darkness._

_‘Shep! Syd!’_

_Among that darkness she could hear a sudden voice calling out to her, pulling her back from the void. And with that, she finally woke up. ___

____ _

__A resounding gasp radiated throughout the cabin, as the commander shot up out of bed. Her eyes wandered around and eventually became transfixed upon the window above her, which exposed her to the darkness of space._ _

__A scream escaped her and she rolled out of bed, scrambling towards the corner of her room. Her heart clenched in terror as she relived every moment of her nightmare, still not fully aware that it had only been a nightmare. Tears streaked her soft cheeks, and her shoulders heaved and shook violently. The events that she had witnessed was not only a past reminder of her death, but a premonition of what could arise should she fail. Her heart couldn’t take much more of this._ _

__A soft clicking could be heard as the shade of her window was closed. She could no longer see the endless void that haunted her nightmares. Warm hands cupped her face, and her eyes met with the bearer of those comforting hands._ _

__Jeff…Living and breathing…Not a husk…_ _

__His green eyes stared into hers with worry. He had seen her entire struggle, and it killed him that he couldn’t do anything about it. Despite the obvious risk it posed for him to be near her while she was thrashing about, he tried his best to wake her. Thankfully it had eventually worked, but he hadn’t been sure._ _

__The pads of his fingers gently brushed the tears from her eyes, trying to provide as much comfort as he could._ _

__“I’m…sorry…” she managed to stutter, but he simply shook his head and lay a gentle kiss on her forehead. He knew she had nightmares, but tonight seemed to be even worse for some reason. It was not something that he thought she should deal with alone and he had bugged her about it before. Now he was a hundred percent sure that she had been holding back._ _

__“What do you have to apologize for? You didn’t ask to get a nightmare” he had a crooked grin on his face, trying to cheer her up. “Unless you did…I don’t know maybe you are into that sort of thing…Sorry. Stupid joke… ignore that heh…”_ _

__“I just…”She sniffled “I dreamt about the Collectors and…the old Normandy…and about you…Everyone was dead or turned into husks and…I was spaced again…Oh, Jeff…it was horrible…I was reliving when I was spaced…I couldn’t breathe and my body was on fire…”_ _

__He frowned and tilted his head in confusion. She hadn’t talked about what had happened after the blast. All just assumed she was taken out by the beam. “What…what do you mean…I thought that the blast…”_ _

__She shook her head. Her body started shaking once again in memory of it. “No…the blast only sent me further into space…There was a hole in my oxygen and it started running out… And I started to fall into Alchera’s atmosphere…The pain was…” her voice trailed off._ _

__“Oh god…” he let out, his heart clenching “Syd…I…I’m sorry. God, I’m an idiot…This was all my fault. I’m so fucking stu–” a finger was put onto his lips and then her arms wrapped around him._ _

__“No! Stop! It wasn’t your fault I’ve told you this a thousand times! I should’ve been faster…I could’ve…”_ _

__“No, you stop. How in the hell could you have stopped that beam from hitting the Normandy? You couldn’t have! We didn’t expect to be dealing with Collectors, we were expecting geth. There is nothing you could’ve done. You saved my life, Syd. You gotta stop this blaming bullshit”_ _

__She stayed quiet for a moment and sniffled, snuggling deeper into his embrace. Lately, it had been the only safe-haven for her, feeling not only safe but comforted. For all his sarcasm and humour, he truly cared for her. Yet she still felt so weak in breaking down like this. Shepard was a name that was known throughout the galaxy for strength and endurance, but here she was reduced to a puddle of tears at a simple nightmare. Sydney Shepard, saviour of the Citadel on the verge of a mental breakdown._ _

__Joker felt like such an idiot that he hadn’t seen the extent of how much she was hurting. He knew that something was wrong, but he didn’t want to push her too hard until she decided to come to him. Now he thought he probably should’ve. He wasn’t good at the whole relationship business, but he should’ve known to do that. Above all else, she was not only his girlfriend but his best friend. Now he felt like the shittiest asshole out there._ _

__Yet the look in her chocolate brown hues showed no sign of blame, nor had they ever from the moment they had met up again. Only love and need to have him close. So many people forgot that she was just one woman, that she had needs too and she could be broken down. He vowed to not let it get to this point again without getting involved._ _

__“Look…Syd…I know you have a reputation to be strong and all that crap but you are human. And…you know us humans. We’re all soft and squishy and are a bit clingy. Or maybe that’s just you…” she let out a giggle at that “Just kidding don’t kill me! Anyways…You’re only one person, and everyone has their limits. Even you. It’s normal…and you gotta listen to your body and your heart sometimes when it says enough” his fingers gently brushed stray silky strands of raven hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear. For a third time that night she felt her eyes water, but this time with happiness._ _

__“Thank you…Jeff…You always seem to know how to put up with my crazy bullshit…Don’t know who else could” she smiled._ _

__“Hey don’t thank me. Thank you for…well…giving this sarcastic, cripple of a pilot a chance. You’re amazing Syd. More than you know” he leaned in and kissed her gently. The kiss was short and sweet, but the feeling in both of their chests was a mutual spread of adoration for one another._ _

__“I love you” She whispered softly._ _

__“I love you too….always here for you…” He helped her up and the both of them lay back on the bed. Her head lay on his chest to listen to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. It was calming, served as a reminder that they were both together and alive, that nothing would keep them from coming back to the other. The drumming beat of his heart lulled her to sleep as his arms wrapped around her protectively._ _

__“Together in the stars…”_ _


End file.
